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Friday, January 16, 2015

Sootball Amigurumi Pattern

Sootball Pattern, (I also have a much smaller Soot Sprite pattern here)

Here's a pattern that I had wanted to publish with way more photos of the sootball doing cool stuff but I ran out of the novelty yarn I needed and I can't find any in my town. I could order more online but I'll wait to see if I get lucky and Walmart restocks their yarn shelves first!

When I first made the sootball I took a few awesome pictures of him throwing coal into my stove and I really wanted to make about 5 or 6 more sootballs doing the same thing because that would make a great photo! But it'll have to wait... you can see him in action here as a lone worker :)

As you can see I have the sootball holding a piece of coal that stands on 2 legs and also a sootball with just dangly limbs made from yarn chains. The choice is yours and I've included instructions for both. The dangly limbs are quick to make! Thesupply list contains items you may not need depending on which sootball you make so be sure to glance over the pattern all the way to the end before starting.

Read me ~> Work
in continuous rounds, do not join. Have any questions or if you come
across a mistake in the
pattern
please leave a message in the comment section below.

Read me ~> How to read the rows:
Each row has a sequence as given below. Example: 1sc then 2sc in
next st means repeat that sequence 1sc then 2sc in next st followed by
1sc then 2sc in next st over and over to the end of that particular row.
The number inside the parentheses ( ~ ) is the number of stitches you
should have at the end of that particular row.

Read me ~> Add in a marker at the end of row 2 and move that marker
at the end of every row. I just use a short length of yarn and pull it
through the last stitch I put in at the end of every row.

Supplies:Red Heart worsted weight black acrylic yarn medium #4Red Heart Foxy yarn in blackRed Heart White Yarn for eyes OR white felt4.5mm hook 100% polyester stuffingblunt end yarn needleblack pipe cleaners *number will depend on what parts of the pattern you followpiece of Styrofoam and black acrylic paint *optional depending on what part of the pattern you follow also optional is wire, again depending on which part of the pattern you followfabric glue or regular tacky glue if you glue the eyes

Body holding the ww yarn and the Foxy yarn together: 1) magic circle or adjustable loop with 6st (6)2) 2sc in each (12) 3) 1sc then 2sc in next st (18)4) 1sc in next 2st then 2sc in next st (24)5) 1sc in next 3st then 2sc in next st (30)6) 1sc in next 4st then 2sc in next st (36)7-13) 1sc in each st for 7 rows14) 1sc in next 4st then 2tog (30)15) 1sc in each st for 1 row16) 1sc in next 3st then 2tog (24)17) 1sc in next 2st then 2tog (18)18) 1sc then 2tog (12) * stop and turn the piece inside out. This is optional but you will find that inside out is fuzzier than right side out. Stuff firmly and shape while you stuff19) 1sc then 2tog (8)f/o leaving a tail for closing up
the gap. Weave in and out of the remaining stitches and pull tight to
close. Knot off and hide yarn tails in the body.Using your blunt end yarn needle, run it along the body now to pull up any fur that has been caught inside the stitching.

*If you want the Sootball with dangly limbs then skip over the next 4 sections

Legs: using just 1 strand of ww black yarn1) magic circle or adjustable loop with 6st (6)2) 1sc then 2sc in next st (9)3-4) 1sc in each st for 2 rows5) 1sc then 2tog (6)5-12) 1sc in each st for 8 rows *if you want longer legs then add a few more rows of sc. I tried both ways and I found it much cuter with shorter legs ending with row 12, however, the actual sootball seen in movies has extra long thin legs so be creative! You might get a sootball way cooler looking than mine :)f/o leaving a long tail for sewing. Do not stuff the leg. Bend florist wire OR2 pipe cleaners and push the bend all the way to the end of the foot. Cut the excess pipe cleaner off. If you want the sootball to stand firmly on it's own then use florist wire.. any gauge as long as you can bend it with your fingers and it holds it's shape on it's own. Leave a little length past the edge of the leg so that the wires go into the body a bit before the leg touches the body. This adds strength but please do not use wireif giving the sootball to a small child.

Click on photos to enlarge them

Bend the end of the leg at about the 5th row so you have a foot. Using a length of black yarn wrap it tightly from the top of the foot (about the 5th row) to about 1/4 inch from the top of the leg. Knot off and hide yarn tails inside leg. Eyes:1) magic circle or adjustable loop with 5st (5)2) 2sc in each st (10)sl st next st and f/o leaving a tail for sewing unless you glue the eyes in place. If you glue them then just cut the yarn tail up shorter and tuck it behind the eye.For the pupil I made a french knot with black yarn.

Arms:
I made the arms with 4 pipe cleaners, 2 pipe cleaners per arm. Do not use the full length of the pipe cleaner. Bend each end over, including each bend mine are about 6 inches long. Because I didn't have black on hand I just wrapped the pipe cleaners with black yarn. After wrapping I also made a long chain with about 40 -45 chains and wrapped the chain around the pipe cleaners as well. This added a bit of strength as well as a lumpy pattern that somewhat matched the legs. Sew the arms so that they point upward, so they can hold the coal without a struggle.

Coal:
I used a piece of Styrofoam that I painted black with acrylic craft paint. 2 coats covered it well, let the first coat dry first before adding the 2nd coat. Before painting the piece though check and see how the piece looks over the head, take note where the arms will be and use a pen or a pencil to make indents for the hands to slide into. Make these deep enough so the arms won't slip out easily. Try it out with the arms before painting. Once it's ready push the arms into the 2 indents and you're done! If the hands begin to slip out you can tie them together by knotting a piece of yarn to the end of one hand and using a yarn needle pull the yarn right through the Styrofoam and through the other indent. Thread it through the other hand, push the hands in place and pull on the yarn tail until it's tight then knot it off. Weave the yarn tail into the arm and cut the end free.

Dangly Limbs:make 4 with black yarnch 17 and f/o leaving a long tail that you will weave in and out of the chains all the way to the other end. You will now have 2 yarn tails on one end. Sew these to the body. You can also add a black bead to the end of the chain before weaving the one yarn tail to the other end. I added 2 beads, one on each leg as pictured. You can also add a yarn loop on the top of his head to hang him up for display.

I hope you enjoyed this pattern! If you make a Sootball please post pictures on my facebook page, I'd love to see!

Donations of any size are greatly appreciated and help keep the patterns
free. If you do give a donation, please accept this note as my sincere
thanks and know that you have helped a great deal.
Many Blessings to you!

Hello!I love you amigurumi! This sootball is so cute, like your other patterns. I've got a blog too: cdecositas.blogspot.com (I started it on Tuesday XD). Sorry, it's in Spanish.Thans for your patterns!